


Welcome to the Castle

by Royalsciencenerd



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Big Brother Eugene, Big Sister Rapunzel, F/M, Gen, Post-Episode: s03e19 Plus Est En Vous, Post-Finale, Protective Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Team Awesome (Disney: Tangled), Varian Angst (Disney), Varian has PTSD, Varian whump, can we even blame him?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26638174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Royalsciencenerd/pseuds/Royalsciencenerd
Summary: Post-series finale, Varian moves into the castle with his father. But when Quirin goes back to Old Corona to get the rest of their things, Varian finds himself alone in the castle. Which is fine - he wants to explore and familiarize himself with his surroundings anyways. Unfortunately, some castle guards take it upon themselves to escort him to the one place he's quite familiar with....
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Quirin & Varian (Disney), Rapunzel & Varian (Disney), Stan and Pete and Varian
Comments: 19
Kudos: 180





	Welcome to the Castle

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings for anxiety attacks and PTSD (if I missed anything else please let me know).
> 
> Things I should be doing:  
> -paying attention to my zoom lecture  
> -writing my research proposal  
> -practicing my presentation for tomorrow  
> -updating "Creeping Crystals" (ch 6 will be here soon... ish...)
> 
> What I did instead:  
> -pulled this fic out of the editing folder and posted it :)
> 
> This is fine.... :D
> 
> Head's up, Ruddiger's not in this one because I needed him to not be there in order to achieve peak levels of Varian angst and Team Awesome comfort. Idk where he is, but he's just not there in this particular moment. Also, as per usual, I did not name the OC's because I'm lazy, and they're jerks anyways. They don't deserve names! Also I tagged "Big sister Rapunzel," but if you know me, you know I have more issues with her than Cassandra and Varian combined. But she has her moments, and this is one of them.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Varian is ecstatic when Queen Rapunzel asks him and his father to move into the castle, and even more excited when she names him the Royal Engineer. He’s come a long way since that dark year, and he’s determined to continue to make amends, and prove that he can help the people of Corona using his alchemy.

He’s unpacking his lab equipment in the lab space Rapunzel has provided for him, when he hears a knock at the door. Glancing up, he sees Eugene, dressed in his captain’s uniform.

“How’s it going kid? All moved in?”

Varian grinned. “Almost. My dad took the cart back to Old Corona to get the last load of things, but after that we’ll be settled in.”

Eugene smiled. “Well, just holler if you need anything!”

Varian nodded, turning back to unpacking his equipment. A couple of hours later, and he decided he was ready for a break. He slipped out into the hallway, and began to head towards the kitchens. Rapunzel had said he had free rein of the castle- maybe he would go exploring after getting a snack. He’d already seen most of it while helping Cassandra with her chores all those years ago, but he had long since forgotten a lot of it.

Rounding a corner, Varian thought he heard whispers, but upon turning around, he found no one there. Continuing cautiously down the corridor, Varian frowned. He could have sworn he heard voices. As he turned the next corner on his path to the kitchen, he was ambushed. A sack cloth was thrown over his head, and shackles bound his hands behind his back.

Varian shouted for help, but a hand clamped over his mouth through the sack. “Shhhh, don’t want to force us to do something awful, now do you boy?” a voice whispered next to his ear.

Varian quit trying to scream and instead focused on his breathing. He had to remain calm. He needed to figure out where these people were taking him. He’d been kidnapped before; he’d be fine. He just needed to remain calm.

Varian felt his captors begin to move, dragging him along with them. He listened for noises that could give any indication of where they were taking him, but all he could hear was the gentle swish of feet hitting the carpet of the palace hallways. Well at least they hadn’t made it out of the castle yet, Varian thought. There was still a chance Eugene would find him and save him before they left the castle.

The gentle swish of carpet was interrupted by a resounding clank, almost as if a metal door had opened. Then they were heading down- Varian could tell by the awkward angle he was forced to descend at. Upon reaching the bottom of wherever they were, their fast pace resumed, and Varian listened as boots clicked along… tile maybe? No, the sound echoed too much- maybe it was stone. Where were they?!?

As if hearing Varian’s thoughts, the bag was ripped from his head, and he was shoved to the rough stone ground. Another resounding clang echoed, and turning, Varian found himself looking up at the smirking faces of 4 Coronan guards through the bars of a prison cell. No, not just a prison cell- his prison cell.

“What?!? What’s going on?!?” Varian stammered, as he struggled to regain his footing, with his hands still chained behind his back.

“Please, Varian….” One of the guards growled. “You may have the princess fooled with your whole ‘reformation,’ but we’re not buying it. This is where you belong. And I’d be surprised if anyone actually cared enough to come looking for you.”

Varian gulped. “No- no my dad, Eugene…. They’ll-they’ll come for me. And if not them, then Rapunzel herself.”

Another guard rolled his eyes. “It’s so sad that you actually believe that. We all know your dad’s better off without you. For once, he’ll actually be safe from crazy magical mishaps, oh I’m sorry- I meant alchemy. As for Eugene and Rapunzel, well, why do you think they brought you here in the first place? Spoiler alert! It was to keep an eye on you, you little pest! We’re doing them a favor. Now that you’re gone, they won’t have to worry about their little pet project anymore. Or should I say, pet peeve?”

The guards snickered before turning to leave.

“Wait!” Varian called. “You can’t leave me here! Please! Come back!” But the guards were already long gone.

~~~~~~

“Okay, Varian. You’re okay,” Varian muttered to himself. “You can figure a way out of here, and if not then one of your friends will come rescue you. Those guards were wrong…. Probably. But at the very least, dad will come. I mean, he won’t be back until tomorrow because he’s packing up our stuff in the cart in Old Corona, but as soon as he’s back he’ll notice you’re missing and get you out. You just have to wait until then. Or escape before then. Easy peasy….”

Varian sat down on the bunk of the cell- his bunk. “It’s fine, Varian. You’re okay. Look, Andrew’s not even here, so you’re okay. It’s just you, and the prison cell you spent the worst year of your life in. It’s fine. You’re fine. No problem. You’ve got this.”

Pulling his knees to his chest, Varian repeated his mantra. “No problem. You’ve got this. No problem. You’ve got this.” Glancing over at the prison bars, Varian shook his head. “You’re fine. Someone will find you and let you out. Not EVERYONE hates you. Just most people. Especially people down here in the dungeon which mostly consists of guards and other prisoners, but you’re fine. No problem. You’ve got this.”

Burying his face in his knees, Varian focused on his breathing. “You just need to remain calm until dad or Eugene finds you. Then those guards will be sorry. Probably…. Unless they were right, and everyone really does hate you, and then- nope they’ll find you and let you out. You just need to remain calm. Breathe in and out. No problem. You’ve got this.”

Squeezing his eyes shut tighter, Varian whispered, “Come on, dad. Eugene. Anybody. Hurry up and save me.”

~~~~~~

“Has anyone seen Varian?” Eugene asked as he strolled through the guard barracks. All of his men shook their heads.

“Maybe he’s just exploring,” one of the guards suggested.

“Maybe…,” Eugene frowned. “Well, everyone keep an eye out for him. I want to know where he is by dinner.”

“Yes sir!” the guards replied.

“Captain!” a guard ran up to Eugene. “There’s an urgent matter in the courtyard that requires your immediate attention.”

Eugene sighed. Looking for Varian would have to wait.

~~~~~~

Surprisingly, it was Stan and Pete of all people who found Varian. They had received a noise complaint from one of the prisoners, and while they usually ignored that kind of thing, there wasn’t supposed to be any prisoners in this wing. And so that’s how they found Varian, alternating between hyperventilating, and flat-out sobbing, in his former prison cell.

“Varian?” Pete asked, peering through the bars to make sure it was really him.

The boy made no move to acknowledge them, except to curl more tightly into himself.

Stan quickly opened the door to the cell, and rushed in. “Hold on, Varian, we’re getting you out of here.”

In response, Varian hurriedly backed away, falling off the edge of the bunk. “NO! STAY-STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!!!”

“Varian, we- we just want to help,” Stan murmured, crouching down so he was at eye level with Varian.

“NO! STAY AWAY!” Varian screamed, backing further away into the corner of the cell.

Turning to his best friend, Stan whispered to Pete, “Go find Eugene! I’ll stay here with Varian.”

Pete nodded, and ran for the dungeon’s entrance. Stan knelt on the floor, trying to look as unimposing as possible. “It’ll be okay, Varian. Pete’s going to go get Eugene, and we’re going to get you out of here. It’s all going to be okay,” he whispered.

Varian’s only response was to whimper.

~~~~~~

“CAPTAIN!” Pete called as he raced towards Eugene.

“Not now, Pete. Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a crisis?!?” Eugene gestured to the hole in the courtyard’s wall.

“I can see that sir, but this is urgent. You must come with me immediately.”

“Pete, what could possibly be so urgent as-”

“It’s Varian, sir. We found him!”

Eugene paled at the grim look on Pete’s face. “Take me to him!”

~~~~~~

As they raced through the castle hallways, Eugene couldn’t help the barrage of questions he had for Pete. “Where is he? Is he okay? Is he hurt?”

“He’s in the dungeons, sir. We don’t know why. Stan and I just found him there. He doesn’t seem injured, but he’s unresponsive. He’s in some sort of catatonic state. He won’t talk to us, and when we tried to help him, he told us to ‘stay away.’ That’s why I went to get you, captain.”

Eugene cursed under his breath. Hang in there, Varian, he thought. I’m coming.

Eugene heard Varian long before he saw him. From down the corridor he could hear the shaky gasps for breath, and Stan’s quiet whispers of reassurances. Rounding the corner, Eugene was confronted with the horrible scene. Varian, curled up into a ball in a corner of the cell, hands shackled behind his back. Stan was attempting to coax the young boy forward, but Varian was either ignoring him or couldn’t hear him.

Kneeling beside Stan, Eugene turned to the guard. “How long has he been like this?”

“Since we found him a half hour ago, but who knows how long before that,” Stan replied grimly.

“Thanks, guys,” Eugene turned to give his friends a reassuring smile. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Yes sir!” With that, both guards turned and left, leaving just Eugene and Varian in the cell. Which now that Eugene was examining it, this was definitely Varian’s former prison cell. What had happened?!?

“Varian?” Eugene called gently, as he inched towards the boy. “Varian, can you hear me?”

Varian made no move to acknowledge him. If anything, his breaths got shakier.

“Varian, it’s me. It’s Eugene. Team Awesome, remember?”

Varian let out a little whine, but made no response other than that.

“Okay buddy. It’s okay. I know you’re scared, but I’m here now. I don’t know what happened, but I’m going to get you out of here, okay? We’re going to do this together. You and me. Varian and Eugene. Team Awesome. Okay?”

Varian somehow managed a shaky nod. Eugene sighed with relief. “Okay buddy, just hang in there. I’m going to unlock your cuffs now, okay?”

Varian simply leaned forward a little in response.

“Good job, kid. Now I’m going to come over and unlock you, now. Let’s get those shackles off you, okay?” With that, Eugene crept forward slowly. Reaching behind Varian, he unlocked the cuffs by picking the lock. Gently he removed the shackles from Varian’s wrists and set them aside. With the cuffs gone, Eugene could now plainly see Varian’s wrists- they were rubbed raw. Eugene frowned. There was a time to be angry later, but right now, he needed to focus on getting Varian out of here.

Leaning back to face Varian again, Eugene was relieved to see the kid’s breathing, while still fast, was no longer spastic gasps for air.

“What do you say, kid? How about we get you out of here now?”

Varian shakily nodded again, and moved to stand, but his legs were trembling too hard for him to get a firm footing.

“Hey, now, careful there,” Eugene soothed. Shaking his head, Eugene faced his trembling friend. “Varian, buddy. I’m going to carry you out, if that’s okay with you. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that? Can you trust ole Eugene here? Can you trust Team Awesome?”

Varian shakily nodded, and Eugene bent over the scoop the kid up into his arms. Varian immediately latched his arms around Eugene’s neck in a vice-like grip.

“Okay, kid. I’m glad you trust me, but I can’t breathe right now.”

Varian shakily loosened his arms. “Sorry,” he whispered.

Eugene couldn’t help the wave of relief he felt at hearing the kid talk, even if it was to apologize. “Don’t sweat it, kid. Now how about we get you out of here?” Eugene asked.

Varian nodded. With that, Eugene carried him up and out of the dungeon, and away from his former prison cell.

~~~~~~

Eugene never thought he’d say this, but thank goodness for Stan and Pete. They may be incompetent idiots at times, but they were smart enough to know to get Rapunzel and meet him in the med bay.

Upon arriving, Rapunzel helped Eugene convince Varian to let go of Eugene’s neck, if only so he could sit properly on the bed (plus give Eugene’s neck a break from being inadvertently throttled). While still trembling, Varian’s breathing was at least slowly returning to normal, and he uncurled himself enough to let the doctor examine him, with only minimal encouragement from Rapunzel.

Thankfully the doctor had confirmed Varian had no major physical injuries- just the irritation on his wrists from the cuffs. Varian’s wrists were quickly bandaged, and now he was drinking some water at Rapunzel’s request. Eugene had to hold the cup for him, he was shaking so badly, but at least he was able to get a few sips in. Setting the glass down on the bedside table, Eugene returned to his position, sandwiching Varian from his right, while Rapunzel sat on his left.

Eugene had no idea how much time passed, but eventually Varian stopped trembling. His eyes started drooping, and Eugene could tell this whole endeavor had drained him. Turning to make eye contact over the boy’s head, Eugene raised an eyebrow in question at his girlfriend.

Rapunzel sighed, knowing what Eugene was asking. “Varian,” she whispered, taking his hand and squeezing it. She smiled as he squeezed back. “Eugene and I have a few questions to ask you before we let you rest, if that’s okay.”

Varian nodded, but continued staring down at his feet dangling off the edge of the bed.

Eugene sighed. This wasn’t going to be pleasant. He hated having to disturb Varian, but he needed to know who had done this. They needed to be punished.

“Varian,” Eugene began. “Who put you in that cell?”

Varian began trembling again, and Eugene wrapped an arm around his shoulders in support. Rapunzel squeezed his hand again.

After a minute of no response, Eugene sighed. “Okay, Varian. That’s okay. You don’t have to speak. But can you nod or shake your head if I ask you some questions?”

Varian gave a shaky nod in reply.

“Good. Good. Now, was it a criminal who threw you in that cell? Did Andrew or one of his goons escape?”

Varian shook his head.

“Okay. That’s good. You’re doing great, kid. Now, was it a guard?”

Varian paused before shakily nodding.

“Was it Stan and Pete?”

Varian shook his head.

“Did you recognize them?”

Another shaky nod.

“Do you know their names?”

A pause, and then another head shake.

“Okay. That’s okay buddy. You’re doing great. Do you know how long you were in there?”

Rapunzel cleared her throat and glared. Her eyes said it all. He knew he was interrogating the wrong person, but he needed as much information as possible from the victim.

Varian shook his head shakily.

“Aright, buddy. That’s all the questions I have for now. You get some rest, okay?”

Varian nodded, but made no move to lie down.

Eugene stood and turned to leave. He had some guards to deal with. As he began to walk out of the infirmary, a small shaky voice stopped him.

“Where- where are you going?” Varian asked, looking up for the first time.

Eugene smiled. “I’m going to get you some justice, Goggles.”

~~~~~~

After Eugene left, Rapunzel turned to Varian. “You should get some rest. You’ve had a rough day.”

Varian snorted in response, but once again made no move to lie down. Instead he leaned into her side, resting his head on her shoulder.

“Varian, you should at least try to get some sleep,” Rapunzel coaxed.

“Not tired,” Varian murmured.

Rapunzel resisted the urge to sigh. She knew that wasn’t true. One look at the kid was enough to tell anyone he was exhausted. Time for Plan B.

“If you like, I can read to you. I made a stop by the castle library on my way here, and picked up multiple books I think you might find interesting.”

Varian turned to look at the books she pulled from her bag. “Okay,” he whispered.

Rapunzel smiled. “Okay then. Do you have a preference?”

Varian pointed at the middle book she was holding, Flynn Rider and Lost Treasure of Scotia.

“Good choice,” Rapunzel replied. Opening the book, she turned to the first page. “I’m going to have to ask you to lie down, though, Varian. It’s hard to turn the pages when you’re leaning on my arm like that.”

Varian nodded and acquiesced, lying down on the med bay’s bed. Turning back to the book, Rapunzel smiled and began to read. She made it to page 28 before she turned to find Varian was fast asleep.

~~~~~~

Eugene stormed into the barracks, flanked by Stan and Pete. “ALRIGHT! EVERYBODY, LINE UP!” he yelled. The men scrambled to do as they were told. They’d never seen Eugene this mad before.

“WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?!?” Eugene screamed. “WHICH OF YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OKAY TO THROW VARIAN IN A PRISON CELL?!?”

The guards all stood at attention, but no one confessed to the crime.

Eugene paced up and down the line. “We are NOT leaving until someone fesses up. Now I’m going to ask again, and you all better think really hard before you answer because I’m telling you right now, this is your last chance at mercy- WHO HURT VARIAN?!?”

A soldier towards the middle of the lineup began shaking. Eugene pounced. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!?”

“It-it was a joke sir. A little- a little initiation. A welcome to-to the castle prank. We’d thought it’d be funny.”

“FUNNY?!?” Eugene screeched.

“It’s not our fault if the kid took it too seriously,” the soldier standing next to the first muttered.

“I’M SORRY! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!?”

“We’re sorry captain,” a third replied.

“We didn’t mean it to go so far. It was just a joke, a prank,” a fourth stammered.

Eugene was practically seething with rage. “ALL OF YOU, DUNGEON PATROL FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS! YOU CAN THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE WHILE YOU STEW IN DARKNESS! AND THEN WE’LL DISCUSS WHAT COMES NEXT AFTER THAT!”

“But, sir-”

Eugene cut off whatever the guard was going to say with a glare.

“LISTEN TO ME! THAT WAS A CRUEL JOKE! The poor kid’s traumatized enough as is, he doesn’t need you idiots messing with him. Now listen to me- all of you. NO ONE MESSES WITH VARIAN! GOT IT?!?”

“Yes sir!”

With that, Eugene turned and left. He’d seen enough of these jerks for a lifetime. Right now, he needed to check on Varian.

~~~~~~

When Eugene returned, the kid was still fast asleep. Rapunzel was watching over him, while reading aloud from a Flynn Rider book. Eugene smiled. If he didn’t know the cause behind this scene, he could almost believe it was peaceful.

As if to prove him wrong, Varian shifted in his sleep, and began tossing and turning. Eugene sat next to the kid questioning whether he should wake him up, but Varian’s subconscious made the decision for him, and the boy shot awake.

Varian pulled his knees up to his chest, and buried his face in them, trembling. Eugene began to gently rub his back and whisper reassurances that he was safe. Without looking up, Varian whimpered.

“I want my dad.”

Rapunzel and Eugene made eye contact. Quirin was still in Old Corona. He wasn’t due back until tomorrow.

Eugene sighed. “I’m sorry, buddy, but he’s not here right now. But he’ll be back real soon, okay?”

“I want my dad,” Varian repeated.

“Come here, kid,” Eugene whispered, pulling Varian into his chest. Rapunzel stood up from where she had been sitting, and joined the group hug.

“Your dad’s going to be back soon, and until then, Rapunzel and I are going to look after you- isn’t that right, Sunshine?”

Rapunzel smiled. “Of course, Varian. We’re not going anywhere.”

Eugene felt Varian’s tears begin to leak onto his shirt, but the boy relaxed in their arms.

“It’s okay, buddy,” Eugene soothed. “We’ve got you, and we’re not going anywhere. You’re safe with us.”

“Team Awesome?” Varian asked quietly, his face still smooshed against Eugene’s chest.

“Team Awesome,” Eugene confirmed, hugging the boy tighter.

~~~~~~

All three of them stayed in the med bay overnight. When Quirin returned the next morning, Varian ran to hug him. Quirin gave Eugene an inquisitive look as his son latched onto him, but Eugene simply shook his head. He’d tell Quirin later, once he had a chance to talk where Varian wouldn’t overhear.

That turned out to be that night while Varian was asleep. Eugene quickly told Quirin what had happened in a hushed tone, so as not to wake the kid. Quirin was, as predicted, NOT amused. But then again, neither was Eugene.

Varian slowly returned to his usual bubbly self as the weeks went by, and Eugene made sure that no one messed with him. After all, they were Team Awesome. And if those guards happened to find themselves doing the most dreary and horrible tasks Eugene could find, well that was fine with everyone.

Varian would be okay. Eugene was sure of it. He was a tough kid. And he had himself, Rapunzel, his dad, and of course Ruddiger to help him along the way.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know what you thought. :)


End file.
